Harry and his friends had absolutely no confidence that Professor Quirrell could withstand Snape's pressure. Neither Hermione nor Ron thought his chances were any good.
So much so that, for some time afterward, whenever Ron saw Professor Quirrell, he would clench his fist and tell him to keep going.
Professor Quirrell looked bewildered every time. Clearly, he could not understand what Ron meant.
Yet Professor Quirrell's ability to withstand pressure came as something of a surprise to Harry.
Over the next few weeks, although his face grew increasingly pale and he seemed more and more drained, he showed none of the signs of collapse Harry and his friends had feared.
Moreover, judging by the way Snape still spoke to him harshly and treated him with cold contempt, Snape probably had not succeeded yet.
This reassured Harry and his friends, while also giving them some admiration for the young professor, who looked so meek and easy to bully.
"I heard Professor Quirrell was sorted into Ravenclaw, but I reckon he would have done Gryffindor proud too," Ron said. Neville agreed.
After Christmas, Neville and Ron's progress in their studies visibly improved. Whether it was spells or the complicated material in Potions and Herbology, both could remember things more clearly.
Yet, for some reason, neither of them had much success casting magic. As a result, apart from Harry, who did homework with them, not even their professors noticed the change.
Harry found this very puzzling.
He had secretly observed them with Magic Perception. Ron, Neville, and Hermione had all shown a clear increase in both magical power and Mental Strength during this time. The increase was not so easy to spot when looking at each of them individually, but it was easy to see through comparison.
The three of them already had